Duck, Duck, .....

Moose!! :-)

This is a picture of a little shirt my mom bought baby Slagh when we were up north last time. It is so cute! We may have to wait a couple years before he/she will fit into the little shirt, but we thought it was quite appropriate for this little one who will certainly be spending lots of time up north on the lake! By this time next summer, baby Slagh will be a little swimmer and boater for sure!

Latest check-up - everything is on track and heartbeat is around 150-152 bpm! It was loud and strong. Size of a large pear or avacado - and we are starting to see that! :-) Counting the days until the next appointment - ultrasound!!!

Rested...and ready...

In my mind there have always been two types of vacations. Both have a goal of taking you away from ordinary life and routine, but each have a different focus.

The first type of vacation is the adventurous kind. These are the vacations where you visit somewhere new, go to Disney World, travel the streets of Paris, go bare boating in the Caribbean, try snorkeling in Mexico, etc. These vacations are a blast, they broaden your horizons... and they tend to leave you feeling a little more tired and drained by the end.

Then there is the second type of vacation. The vacation where the goal is less focused on amazing experiences, and more focused on relaxation and rejuvenation. Where it is not so much about how much you see or do, but actually how little you plan and allow yourself to relax. This type of vacation is all about going with the flow - if you are up for doing something, you do it, if you want to stay in your pajamas until after lunch, you can do that, too. This was the type of vacation that I took for the past 8 days.

Ryan and I left last Friday for Charlevoix, and it was the two of us with my mom for the weekend (my dad was swimming at Nationals, and my grandparents (who live up at Charlevoix for the summer) were hanging out with my uncle in Battle Creek for the week). So it started out with just the three of us. Saturday and Sunday morning started out rainy, so we let that be an excuse to have lazy starts to the day. Saturday, we ended up heading out to Charlevoix for the art fair, going to Petoskey for dinner, and hitting up Boyne City for ice cream - it was fun, and we just planned our what we wanted to do as the day went on! Sunday we rode our bikes to Charlevoix (Ryan once again expressed how much he 'enjoys' the major hills we have up here by the lake), and we got lunch in town. Unfortunately, Ryan had to work Monday, and headed back to Holland later on Sunday. Bummer.

Monday, mom had a planned bike ride with family friend, Janine, so I had the cottage to myself for most of the day! It was wonderful. I stayed in my PJ's until 11:30, did a solo bike ride, and laid on the dock for the rest of the afternoon. Waves, sun, and quiet...perfect.

Dad came Monday night - and the three of us had the cottage to ourselves for the rest of the week. We did a lot, but we didn't do a lot. We were very flexible, and planned very little. It was full of...
Bike rides, boat rides, trips by boat to Petoskey, Harbor Springs, Boyne City and Charlevoix, dinner at the Landings, runs, swims, naps, fresh fruit for breakfast, fresh veggies for dinner, some work time, lots of play time, puzzles, games, book reading, no alarm setting, no tv watching, some movie watching, and lots and lots of float time out on the lake. It was a perfect week. It was hot, sunny, and in only rained in the late evening or early morning.

This was a vacation that was restful. And even though it would be easy to stay up here for another week or two or three, I also feel like I will be ready to dive back to work, and start getting ready for the new school year. Here are some pics from our fun week (when we remembered to break out the camera :-)).

Some mornings had amazing sunrises...

Some were a little more rainy...

And some were just beautiful...

Bike rides...
Quite happy post-bike ride and swim on Monday morning...best way to start a day... :-)

This was a typical early morning scene at the cottage...the computers stayed in those spots all week, and were only shifted for bowls of cereal, or plates for dinner... :-)

Heading back into Round Lake...Heading out for a day on the lake...

Mem, dad and me at the Landings...

Me and dad...

Mem and dad on the beach...

Reading...

Age is just a number...

This one isn't about Ryan or me, this is about my dad... :-)

One of my summer reads this year was the Dara Torres book, "Age is just a number". It was a good read, an interesting life story, and proof that most of the limits we experience as we age, are ones that we place on ourselves. Dedication and discipline are keys to expanding our ideas of what we think we 'can' and 'cannot' do. I am pretty sure that if someone told my dad back in 1976 that he would swim faster at 55 (a little over 33 years later) than he did in college, he would have thought it would be something that 'cannot' possibly happen. But it did. :-)

My first role model of a swimmer was my dad. I would love to swim with my dad and try to keep up with him. And he quickly recognized my ability to swim breaststroke like he does - we have the same knees, ankles and feet - with the classic 'breaststroker' stance :-). This is my brother, my dad and me after a swim in Lake Charlevoix...

My dad swam in high school and college. He was good - even at a time where swimming looked completely different, and no one wore goggles, or fancy suits, and their starts would be considered something comical today. He was undefeated in the 200 breast in college, was named MVP of his team at Albion, and was inducted into the college's Hall of Fame in 2000. Here is a picture of that good looking guy...

My dad has always been a swimmer - either swimming for fun, or training for a meet. If we are around water, he rarely passes up the chance to get a few laps in - whether it be a rec pool, a lake, or a hotel pool that is heated to 89 degrees. He swims with a team in Battle Creek - the B.C. Y Masters team. They are a small team, but they are dedicated and they have fun. Last weekend, they competed at the US national long course masters swim meet in Indianapolis. My dad's performance was proof that age is just a number. He was within seconds of his lifetime bests in the 200 and 100 breast, and a lifetime best in the 50 breast. He went faster than the national records in his age group in the 50 and 100. He went a 1:14.21 in the 100m breast - converted time to yards is 1:03.52. His 50 breast was a 32.74 - converted time to yards is 28.16. That. is. fast.

My dad is a dedicated swimmer. He trains smart. He researches and studies swim techniques, and figures out what works best for him. He is a disciplined swimmer. He is disciplined with his workouts (in and out of the pool), his nutrition, and his rest. We were fixing the dock today, and this is a picture of him carrying one of the cinder blocks - not too bad for a 55 year old! :-)

I am impressed by his times, and his ability to compete so well, but I am also impressed by his heart and dedication. Go, dad, go. :-)

A trip to the east side, a birthday, and a wedding...

Last weekend was busy!

Recap:

Thursday Morning
Traveled to Marshall, met mom, drove together to Novi to visit Grandma Betty at Fox Run!

Thursday Evening
Got to experience "Happy Hour" retirement community style at Fox Run

I had no idea what to expect at "Happy Hour", but was not disappointed! There was a full bar (I brought down fruit juice to drink :-)), snacks, piano playing, and singing! Quite entertaining. Not to mention the fact that my grandma was the one playing the piano for the crowd. In case you don't know my grandma Betty, she is an amazing piano player. She has perfect pitch, and can play practically anything she recognizes on request. As you can imagine, I love playing with her around Christmas time - she accompanies songs I play from a simple beginner piano book, and makes them sound amazing. Here is a picture of my mom and Grandma Betty at the piano. Look at all the people around the piano!


Thursday Evening
Dinner with mem, Grandma Betty, and my grandma's close friend, Gae, who was fun to talk with, followed by a rousing game of Scrabble (winner - mem, it wasn't even close :-))

Friday morning
Run around Novi (amazing houses and neighborhoods - lots of people with lots of money)

Friday afternoon
Drive to Plymouth (where my mom grew up), lunch, drive to Battle Creek, porch time with Speedo

Friday evening
Juno, and then Jeff (the birthday boy) arrives from Cleveland

Saturday
Trip to the Battle Creek Y with mem, trip to the mall with Jeff (Happy Birthday! He is 26 now! makes me feel old!), porch time with the cat, drive back to Holland for Jess and Mike's wedding!

The wedding :-)
The plan was a beach wedding, followed by an outdoor reception. Mother Nature had a different plan. Wind and intermittent rain moved everything indoors. Jess still looked amazing, the wedding still had a very personalized feel, and it was one of those weddings where it makes you want to go back and get married again because it looks like the bride and groom are having so much fun. :-) During the ceremony you could hear the crashing waves on Lake Michigan - it was great to be so close to the lake! Here are a few pictures of the bride and groom (I swiped them from someone else - my camera got neglected as usual (a bad habit I am trying to break)).
The ceremony...
The beautiful bride and groom...

It was a fun weekend!

And what, might you ask, was Ryan doing the whole weekend? I will give you one guess... :-) It rhymes with loft-wall....

Off to Charlevoix for a week tomorrow night. The goal? Lots of boating, water, sun, biking, napping and relaxing.